Momma Bear
by suzie2b
Summary: "The only thing that's meaner than a long-haired cat that's fallen in a creek..."
**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Momma Bear**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **The Rat Patrol's latest mission was to take volunteer courier Charley Williams to Benghazi with reports on enemy movement. The two jeeps could move faster than a convoy and Captain Boggs new his men would take good care of their favorite courier.**

 **The first day ended at the wadi at Al Jawf. There were ruins there for shelter and water. Charley helped Troy set up what they would need for their overnight stay in a partially intact house while Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully filled canteens and jerry cans.**

 **Finished with her chores, Charley wandered carefully around the ruins. Troy kept an eye on her until she disappeared among several broken stone walls. She knew that she should stay within sight of at least one of the four soldiers, but the sergeant thought she might need a couple minutes of privacy.**

 **When Tully returned with two jerry cans of water, he asked where Charley was. Troy turned to point to where he'd last seen her as she emerged holding a bundle in her arms. Charley stopped and looked wide-eyed at the two men who were staring at her.**

 **Troy and Tully glanced at each other, then hurried to Charley's side as Troy asked, "What have you got there?"**

 **Charley pulled a flap of blanket aside to reveal a tiny face. She said quietly, "There's a couple in there … dead."**

 **Moffitt and Hitch joined them as Troy went around the corner to see a man and a woman lying on the ground.**

 **Hitch followed and stepped up beside the sergeant as he checked the bodies. "What do you think happened?"**

 **Troy stood up. "Single shot each through the heart. Looks like some kind of execution."**

 **############################**

 **Moffitt and Tully led Charley to where their bedrolls and other things were. She sat down cross-legged on a blanket that Tully spread out and cradled the baby in her lap. Charley unwrapped the bundle to reveal a baby girl. She wrapped the blanket around the baby again as she said, "She can't be more than a few weeks old." The baby mewled softly and Charley let her suck on her finger. "She's weak and has a fever. Judging by the bodies out there, she probably hasn't eaten in a day or two."**

 **Moffitt opened a case of rations and found the packets of powdered milk and sugar. He took a canteen and poured about half the water out before adding the milk powder along with a little sugar. He capped it and shook it up. "Now all we need is a nipple."**

 **Charley thought for a moment, then looked at Tully. "You have just the thing."**

 **He raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"**

" **In that little zippered pocket inside your jacket. You've always got a few in there."**

 **Tully looked from Charley to Moffitt as his face reddened slightly. He sighed and reached into his jacket and pulled out a wrapped condom. He shrugged as he handed it to Moffitt. "Never hurts to be prepared."**

 **Moffitt grinned and managed to keep his thoughts to himself. "That'll do perfectly. Go fetch your sewing kit."**

 **Tully ran out to the jeep and returned with the kit. Moffitt had unrolled the condom and fitted it onto the canteen's opening. He then took a bit of thread and tied it around the base to make it secure. With a needle, he poked several holes in the tip of the condom. With a smile, Moffitt handed the canteen to Charley. "See if she'll take that."**

 **Charley removed her finger and replaced it with the "nipple". As soon as the baby realized she was receiving something wet and slightly sweet, she drank greedily.**

 **Troy and Hitch walked in and Troy said, "We buried the bodies. How's the baby doing?"**

 **Charley replied, "She's sick, but at least she's eating."**

" **We'll make it to Benghazi tomorrow. She can get medical treatment there."**

 **############################**

 **Early the next morning Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully were loading the jeeps while Charley fed the baby. Amira, as Charley had named her, seemed to be doing a little better, but still had a fever.**

 **Tully knelt next to Charley as she rubbed and gently patted Amira's back. "Are you two ready to get out of here?"**

 **The baby let out a small burp and Charley smiled. "We are now."**

 **As Tully helped her stand with Amira in her arms, Troy stuck his head in and said, "Charley, stay out of sight with the baby."**

" **What's going on?"**

" **We have some company. Tully, out here with the rest of us."**

 **Outside Moffitt was facing off with an Arabic man, who said, "Ёу хад но ригхт то тоуч тхе бодиес!"**

 **Moffitt explained that they hadn't meant any disrespect by burying the dead couple.**

 **Troy stepped up next to Moffitt as the man asked, "Вас тхе чилд деад?"**

 **Moffitt didn't look at Troy as he translated, "He wants to know if the baby is dead."**

 **Troy looked at the Arab. "Why does he want to know?"**

 **Moffitt asked the question and got an unexpected reply. "He says that the couple was executed because they were from different tribes that are fighting with one another and had the baby out of wedlock. The couple was purposely left unburied. They came back to make sure the illegitimate child had died of exposure, as is the custom in such situations."**

 **Troy glowered at the Arab. "Tell him the baby was dead when we got here. We buried her with the couple."**

 **Just after Moffitt had relayed the message, baby Amira began to fuss and started to cry. Charley tried desperately to quiet her, but it wasn't working. She understood about half of the angry exchange between the Arab and Moffitt. She pressed herself into a corner and hoped for the best.**

 **From the other side of the house, where the wall had been mostly blown away, Charley saw another Arab man step inside out of the corner of her eye. He grabbed her roughly before she had a chance to yell and hauled her outside saying, "Тхис оне хас тхе чилд!"**

 **The other Arab said, "Таке тхе чилд!"**

 **The one next to Charley reached for the baby and she backed away, turning so he couldn't get close to the child. "No!"**

 **Moffitt said, "They want the baby, Charley."**

" **I know what they want! They want to kill Amira!" The Arab reached again for the crying baby and Charley kicked him in the shin. "Get away!"**

 **The Arab cursed and started towards Charley again. She began to back away when Tully stepped between them. "Calm down, momma bear. They aren't going to get the baby. Right, sarge?"**

 **Troy nodded. "I'd say it's unanimous."**

 **Charley took a breath and frantically told the Arabs that she would take the baby. "И таке бабы!" The Arab standing with Moffitt shook his head angrily. Charley desperately tried to find the words in her limited Arabic vocabulary for what she wanted to say. Then she said to Moffitt, "Tell them I'll take the baby. Tell them they'll never see her again. She'll be as good as dead to them."**

 **Moffitt relayed her message. The Arabs looked at each other and exchanged some heated words. Then the one said to Moffitt, "Ёу цан ассуре ус тхат ве вилл невер сее тхат чилд агаин?"**

 **Moffitt said, "He wants a guarantee that the baby will not return."**

 **Looking from one Arab to the other, Charley immediately said, "Yes! Ес!"**

 **############################**

 **The Arabs left and Charley finally got Amira to fall asleep. They got to Benghazi late in the day after having to stop every two hours to feed the baby. During their last stop, Troy called in to notify the hospital that they were coming in with a baby in need of medical attention.**

 **The two jeeps pulled up in front of the hospital and Tully escorted Charley with the baby inside.**

 **A nurse greeted them with a smile and took the baby into her arms. "When did she last eat?"**

 **Charley said, "About an hour and a half ago. She's only been taking in a few ounces of powdered milk and sugar every two hours or so. She's had a fever since we found her."**

" **Well, we'll take good care of her. What's her name?"**

" **We'll never know what her parents named her, but I've been calling her Amira." Charley smiled. "It means princess in Arabic."**

 **The nurse said happily, "Then Amira it is." As she turned to walk away, she said, "Come on, little princess. Let's get you taken care of."**

 **Tully put his arm around her and guided her towards the door. "You okay?"**

 **Charley sighed and shrugged. "It's been less than two full days, but I grew to love Amira."**

 **Tully pushed open the door. "Not a surprise."**

 **Charley stopped outside and turned to look at him. "Momma bear?"**

" **What?"**

" **You called me momma bear back at camp."**

 **Tully grinned. "The only thing that's meaner than a long-haired cat that's fallen in a creek is a momma bear protecting her cub. And you're going to make one heck of a momma bear one day."**


End file.
